Cloud of Witnesses and a Garden Update
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| Our newest Poor Clare Saint in the making: Aspirant Casey joined us Oct. 4, feast of St. Francis |
One of the most cherished of our Poor Clare family customs
is the display of holy cards depicting the multitude of saints in our Chapter
Room on the feast of All Saints. Last
week, as I walked into the room and beheld this token of the “cloud of
witnesses” who “spur us on to victory”, I was reminded of another experience
that took place nearly twenty years ago at our ground blessing ceremony. We had just purchased the land for our new
monastery and our abbess designed a very creative ritual for the dedication of
this piece of earth to the service of God.
All of our friends, both cleric and lay, Catholic and non –Catholic,
were invited. The rubrics included a
procession that began on the bridge spanning a narrow dam on Goddins Pond
following a short ecumenical prayer service.
Each of the Sisters obtained water from the pond to be used at the
blessing and carried it in a bucket to our property about a half mile
away. In our free hand we held our
music. Knowing that some of our elder
Sisters and many of our benefactors would not be able to do the long walk, it
was arranged that all who wished could make the journey by car ahead of time
and greet the walking pilgrims as they came to the site of our future
monastery.
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| Chapter Room altar decorated with our patron Saints |
I shall never forget that trek up the rural lane that was to
be our new street address. I was well
occupied in managing my bucket of water, my music and my voice, as well as
keeping an eye on the people with whom I was processing, particularly one of
our brave elders who was beside me, walking with a bit of difficulty and trying
not to show it. Eventually we made it to
the property and then the challenge became even greater as we turned from the asphalt
onto a rough loggers’ dirt road. Then I was
fully engaged, watching my feet in
addition to my other concerns. I must
admit that there was not a whole lot of conscious attention to prayer going on
in my heart! But suddenly, the road opened up into a large, open space where literally
hundreds of people were waiting for us, clapping, cheering us on, joyful that
we had “made it”, and at last were joining their company to praise the God who
had made it all possible. At that
moment, in a flash of spiritual insight, I imagined that this is what it must
be like to enter heaven, being greeted by all the saints who have been waiting
for us and praying for our perseverance along the path of our earthly life.
Our present journey is often like that pilgrim walk to our
monastery. We are occupied with our
tasks, our prayer, and those who walk beside us, especially those needing our service and our love. Juggling the various demands of life can seem
overwhelming at times, but we are not alone.
We have friends who have gone before us and who cheer us on, as well as the
grace of our Heavenly Father who draws us all to Himself through the sacrifice
of His Son, in the enduring love of the Holy Spirit.
Garden Update:
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| Sweet Potato Harvest |
As autumn progresses, the days grow shorter and colder, we
think of the dying year and our own life’s ending, so our vegetable garden has
put aside its summer flourishing. Now is
the time for harvesting the fall crops.
Last week we brought in the sweet potatoes.
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| 7 Pounder to the Right! One Sister said it looks like a sleeping dog. |
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